Experiences and knowledge levels of healthcare employees on professional biological risks of tuberculosi̇s in the scope of occupational health and safety

Tuberculosis (Tbc) is one of the occupational risks faced by healthcare employees. This thesis was designed to evaluate the experience and knowledge levels of healthcare employees about tuberculosis. The research data was compiled evaluating the survey results of healthcare employees working in a private hospital between 24 September and 10 October 2019. The questionnaire was used as a data collection tool and was originally planned for 316 healthcare employees at risk of encountering tuberculosis. However, surveys of 76 healthcare employees could not be conducted for reasons such as seizures, births, or annual leaves. Thus, the data of the study consisted of the questionnaire of 250 health employees, of which 172 were women and 78 were men. The education levels of the health care employees participating in the survey were: 34.8%graduated from vocational high school, 32% had an associate degree (2-year after high school), and 12.4% had college (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) degree. About 72% of healthcare employees received training on tuberculosis at least once. Within the last six months, 6.4% of the healthcare employees in hospitals participated in annual tuberculosis training. 86.8%of the survey participants knew about tuberculosis was an infectious disease. The survey had questions about the signs and symptoms of tuberculosis. The rate of those who either had false information or did not know the signs and symptoms of tuberculosis was 50.4%. The ratio of those who knew about negative pressure chambers was 49.2%.The percentage of those who think that the blue flower symbol should be placed at the entrance of the room of the tuberculosis patient was 45.6%. The standard diagnostic method of tuberculosis was thought to be 58.8% radiology and 50.4% physical examination. 67.6% of the survey participants were knowledgeable about the purified protein derivative (PPD) test. The rate of the survey participants who had information on direct supervised treatment was 44.8%. Based on the data from this thesis study, there are deficiencies in the knowledge of tuberculosis among healthcare employees. Tuberculosis, one of the occupational risk factors, threatens the life of healthcare employees. To prevent tuberculosis from being a contamination risk, healthcare employees should increase their knowledge about the disease. Also, engineering precautions must be taken in the institutions. This goal could be achieved by the additional training opportunities at the institutions. This study recommends that the practices covered in administratively governed trainings need to be applied in the field so that the knowledge is permanent. Key Words: Occupational risk factor, healthcare employees, healthcare professionals, healthcare workers, tuberculosis, knowledge and experience